Back from the Dead
by pixelatrix
Summary: Shepard had the sudden realization that two years was a really long time to be gone. Fem Shep & Hackett pairing. Spoilers for ME2 & ME3. Rated M for Language & Stuff.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:**

**This is a completely unrelated to the multitude of other Hackett/Shep fics that I've written LOL. **

**Not beta, all mistakes are my own.**

**Slight Spoilers for ME2**

**Rated M for language mostly. Also rated M for some hot moments. **

**Enjoy.**

**Bioware owns all. Sadly.**

**Read. Enjoy. Review. Favorite. I'll love you forever lol.**

Shepard was on a mission. The Illusive Man had brought her back from the dead and given her a ship. She had a squad to find and the dossiers on her terminal to go through. But there was something that she needed to do first. It required a fair amount of subterfuge. She had Joker dock at the Citadel and told everyone to take two days shore-leave.

She bought a change of clothes on the Citadel. She couldn't go where she was going in Cerberus colors. She'd opted for Alliance fatigues and a hoodie that allowed her to shield her face from prying eyes. Sneaking on to Arcturus was not the easiest thing in the world, but she didn't have an omni-tool for nothing. The cloaking device worked like a charm where necessary.

The hallways were so familiar to her; it didn't feel like it was two years. Then again, she'd been dead for those years so it wasn't a huge shock that it felt like yesterday. She stood in front of Hackett's office door and hesitated. It was late in the day; his yeoman had already left for the day. But she knew the Admiral would be in his office.

Hackett glanced up when the door to his office opened. He frowned when he didn't see anyone in the doorway. When the door closed again, he shook his head and went back to look at his terminal. Shepard walked quietly around the desk and caught sight of a pair of melted tags in a white frame that sat next in the corner of his desk.

While she was watching, his hand reached out to touch a finger to the tags. Her breath caught in her throat as he sighed deeply and focused his attention back on the message he was in the middle of sending. Shepard didn't know how he was going to respond. She finally decided that it was now or never. So she deactivated her cloak.

"Who the…" Hackett shot out of his chair and backed away from her.

Shepard reached up to push the hood away from her face. "Steven?"

"So he succeeded."

"What?" She wanted to move closer. But she was afraid to reach out to touch him.

"The Illusive Man. I received a visit from Doctor Chakwas a few months ago. She thought that I'd want to know that Cerberus was close to a miracle." He still didn't come any nearer to her.

"I wanted to see you before…I just wanted to…" Shepard had the sudden realization that two years was a really long time to be gone. They'd been in a relationship together since Elysium, but what if he'd… "I better go, I doubt I'm really welcome around the Alliance at the moment seeing as I'm working with Cerberus."

_Well this was a brilliant idea_. _Maybe a vid-comm would have been better._

She pulled the hood back up over her head and started towards the door. Her head was down and she was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she ran straight into Hackett. She frowned up at him in surprise, when the hell had he moved from his desk.

"Where do you think you're going, Shepard?" His hands pushed the hood back yet again and then they cradled her face. His thumbs caressed along the new scar lines leftover from the surgeries that hadn't healed yet.

"I shouldn't have surprised you like this." She felt incredible unsure of herself.

His thumb moved from the right side of her face to her lips. She couldn't resist the temptation, and she opened her mouth to run her tongue across his finger. Her head shifted forward so his thumb slid inside and she swirled her tongue over it.

"God I missed you." He pulled his hands away from her face and wrapped them around her instead.

Shepard found herself crushed against his body. She slid her hands around his sides and up his back. Enjoying the feel of him, it was the piece that she'd been missing since waking up to find herself with the enemy. She pressed her face against the front of his uniform and took slow, deep breaths. This was the moment that she was going to need to memorize, being with Cerberus meant that there wasn't going to be an easy way to see him frequently.

_And she needed…_

"I need…" Her words disappeared into his shirt.

"What do you need?" He moved his hands to her arms and pulled her back so he could hear her better.

"You…just…you."

He crushed her back into his arms. "You've always had me, Shepard."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:**

**Not beta, all mistakes are my own.**

**Slight Spoilers for ME2**

**Rated M for language mostly. Also rated M for some hot moments. **

**Enjoy.**

**Bioware owns all. Sadly.**

**Read. Enjoy. Review. Favorite. Follow. I'll love you forever lol.**

Shepard grabbed every single set of Cerberus fatigues in her storage and carried them down to Miranda. She dumped them on the woman's desk without warning.

"Commander?"

"Get me solid white or solid black or Alliance issue fatigues. I will not wear the fucking Cerberus logo." Shepard left before Lawson could argue with her.

They had already picked up Mordin Solus and Archangel, who turned out to be a familiar face. It was a relief to have at least one trustworthy squad member. She set a course for Alchera then took refuge in her quarters.

* * *

_Inter-Relay Text Chat_

_Location: Omega_

_From: Shepard_

_To: Hackett_

_20:16 S: Hey._

_20:17 S: I'm visiting the Normandy crash site tomorrow._

_20:20 H: Take someone with you._

_20:21 S: No. I'd rather walk with the dead alone._

_20:22 H: Shepard._

_20:23 S: I'll message you when it's finished and send you any missing dogtags that I find._

_20:24 User has disconnected._

* * *

Sitting on a cliff edge, Shepard stared out across the massive debris field. The monument had been placed near the largest intact piece. The old damaged N7 helmet sat beside her. She picked it up and heaved it into the void below.

_Fucking thing_.

The last thing she needed was another damn reminder of the old _Normandy_ to haunt her dreams. She forced herself to get up and head back to the shuttle. She really wanted to nuke the whole fucking area. The idea that tourists would start coming to walk through her ghosts just…she should've told Hackett no when he asked her to place the damn monument.

But it was Hackett. And she could never say no to the man.

She was a few steps from the shuttle when she noticed a second Kodiak beside it. It was blue with the Alliance crest. She stepped inside not sure what to expect. The door closed behind her and the damn thing took off. Shepard couldn't get a word out of the pilot.

_The fuck was going on._

She exited the shuttle to find herself in the shuttle bay of an Alliance ship. An armed marine escorted her into the third deck and then over to the Captain's quarters. She removed her helmet as she stepped inside and set it on a nearby desk. Her attention was focused on the man standing behind the desk.

"Are you kidnapping me?" Shepard smiled at him.

"Perhaps." He took the dogtags that she'd found on Alchera and set them aside.

"I'm sending you some encrypted files on Cerberus. I found them on a dead operative. You might find some interesting information if you can get it decoded." She used her omni-tool to transfer the files. "Why _am_ I here?"

"I wanted to pick up the tags and see the memorial." Hackett started unbuckling her armor.

"Right."

"Oh, and two years is a long time, did you really think one hour in my office on Arcturus would be enough?" He continued removing her armor.

"Cerberus is going to notice a prolonged absence." Shepard tried to push his hands away.

"Tough."

"Tough?" She shook her head in amusement. "Seriously? I can't stay long, Hackett."

"I've got a cruiser full of armed marines that says you're staying as long as I want you to stay." Hackett tossed her chestplate aside and moved on to her gauntlets.

Shepard rolled her eyes at him. "Very funny."

"It was worth a shot." He smiled at her before moving down to slide her boots off. "Just tell them that you got a little lost on your way back."

"I don't get…" She didn't get anything else out when his fingers dipped inside her pants. "They can wait."

Lawson was waiting for her three hours later when she stepped off the shuttle. Shepard ignored her questioning gaze and headed up to set a course for Purgatory. She stepped over to her terminal to check her messages. Anderson had asked her to come visit him at the Citadel. She was certain that would go wonderfully well.

* * *

_From: Shepard_

_To: Hackett_

_Subj: Lost._

_So, where am I getting lost next?_

_Shepard_


End file.
